The marketing of non-profit organisations, a study of the application of marketing techniques and practices in the Scottish arts organisations

Typescript.Marketing has always been regarded as an important activity in business organisations. The contribution which marketing discipline can make to improve performance in non-profit organisations has received limited attention, and is comparatively an unexplored field of research. This thesis analyses the extent to which the application of marketing techniques and practices, as they are practised in profitoriented firms, can improve performance in the Scottish Arts Organisations, as a particular type of non-profit organisations. It suggests that success and better performance can be derived from two major groups of factors. These are : First, the management commitment to marketing in terms of the emphasis it places on using marketing planning, dependence on formalised and structured marketing research, and the effort it devotes to identifying users' needs and wants. Second, the efficient use of the marketing principles related to the marketing mix elements, i. e., product, price, promotion and place. A thorough examination of literature pertaining to these factors has been carried out, based upon which specific hypotheses have been formalised and tested. The empirical investigation was carried out in the Scottish Arts Organisations where six matched pairs of arts organisations, half of them successful and half unsuccessful, have been chosen as a framework for the study. Personal interviews with a structured questionnaire was the method used for data collection from these organisations. The analysis of data was carried out using the method of paired comparison where a successful organisation is compared with an unsuccessful one as a basis for determining any diversity between the two. Comparison between each pair is made using marketing "variables" which, between them, provide the essential information concerning the management attitude towards the marketing concept, and the extent to which the marketing principles related to the marketing mix element, i.e. product, price, promotion, and place, are used efficiently. Also, frequency and cross-tabulation methods are used. The findings of the field research are inconclusive in terms of distinguishing between success and failure and a number of explanations for this are examined together with proposals for further research. In general it would appear that the management of the arts organisations investigated pay only limited attention to marketing and that there are a number of areas where marketing might make a useful contribution to improving the overall efficiency of such organisations.Marketing has always been regarded as an important activity in business organisations. The contribution which marketing discipline can make to improve performance in non-profit organisations has received limited attention, and is comparatively an unexplored field of research. This thesis analyses the extent to which the application of marketing techniques and practices, as they are practised in profitoriented firms, can improve performance in the Scottish Arts Organisations, as a particular type of non-profit organisations. It suggests that success and better performance can be derived from two major groups of factors. These are : First, the management commitment to marketing in terms of the emphasis it places on using marketing planning, dependence on formalised and structured marketing research, and the effort it devotes to identifying users' needs and wants. Second, the efficient use of the marketing principles related to the marketing mix elements, i. e., product, price, promotion and place. A thorough examination of literature pertaining to these factors has been carried out, based upon which specific hypotheses have been formalised and tested. The empirical investigation was carried out in the Scottish Arts Organisations where six matched pairs of arts organisations, half of them successful and half unsuccessful, have been chosen as a framework for the study. Personal interviews with a structured questionnaire was the method used for data collection from these organisations. The analysis of data was carried out using the method of paired comparison where a successful organisation is compared with an unsuccessful one as a basis for determining any diversity between the two. Comparison between each pair is made using marketing "variables" which, between them, provide the essential information concerning the management attitude towards the marketing concept, and the extent to which the marketing principles related to the marketing mix element, i.e. product, price, promotion, and place, are used efficiently. Also, frequency and cross-tabulation methods are used. The findings of the field research are inconclusive in terms of distinguishing between success and failure and a number of explanations for this are examined together with proposals for further research. In general it would appear that the management of the arts organisations investigated pay only limited attention to marketing and that there are a number of areas where marketing might make a useful contribution to improving the overall efficiency of such organisations

Social Enterprise in Asia

In the absence of a widely accepted and common definition of social enterprise (SE), a large research project, the ""International Comparative Social Enterprise Models"" (ICSEM) Project, was carried out over a five-year period; it involved more than 200 researchers from 55 countries and relied on bottom-up approaches to capture the SE phenomenon. This strategy made it possible to take into account and give legitimacy to locally embedded approaches, thus resulting in an analysis encompassing a wide diversity of social enterprises, while simultaneously allowing for the identification of major SE models to delineate the field on common grounds at the international level. These SE models reveal or confirm an overall trend towards new ways of sharing the responsibility for the common good in today’s economies and societies. We tend to consider as good news the fact that social enterprises actually stem from all parts of the economy. Indeed, societies are facing many complex challenges at all levels, from the local to the global level. The diversity and internal variety of SE models are a sign of a broadly shared willingness to develop appropriate—although sometimes embryonic—responses to these challenges, on the basis of innovative economic/business models driven by a social mission. In spite of their weaknesses, social enterprises may be seen as advocates for and vehicles of the general interest across the whole economy. Of course, the debate about privatisation, deregulation and globalised market competition—all factors that may hinder efforts in the search for the common good–has to be addressed as well. The first of a series of four ICSEM books, Social Enterprise in Asia will serve as a key reference and resource for teachers, researchers, students, experts, policy makers, journalists and other categories of people who want to acquire a broad understanding of the phenomena of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship as they emerge and develop across the world

Social Enterprise in Asia

In the absence of a widely accepted and common definition of social enterprise (SE), a large research project, the ""International Comparative Social Enterprise Models"" (ICSEM) Project, was carried out over a five-year period; it involved more than 200 researchers from 55 countries and relied on bottom-up approaches to capture the SE phenomenon. This strategy made it possible to take into account and give legitimacy to locally embedded approaches, thus resulting in an analysis encompassing a wide diversity of social enterprises, while simultaneously allowing for the identification of major SE models to delineate the field on common grounds at the international level. These SE models reveal or confirm an overall trend towards new ways of sharing the responsibility for the common good in today’s economies and societies. We tend to consider as good news the fact that social enterprises actually stem from all parts of the economy. Indeed, societies are facing many complex challenges at all levels, from the local to the global level. The diversity and internal variety of SE models are a sign of a broadly shared willingness to develop appropriate—although sometimes embryonic—responses to these challenges, on the basis of innovative economic/business models driven by a social mission. In spite of their weaknesses, social enterprises may be seen as advocates for and vehicles of the general interest across the whole economy. Of course, the debate about privatisation, deregulation and globalised market competition—all factors that may hinder efforts in the search for the common good–has to be addressed as well. The first of a series of four ICSEM books, Social Enterprise in Asia will serve as a key reference and resource for teachers, researchers, students, experts, policy makers, journalists and other categories of people who want to acquire a broad understanding of the phenomena of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship as they emerge and develop across the world

Marketing and management framework to create sustainable healthcare sector non-profit organisations in South Africa

Thesis (DCom (Marketing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019Poverty gaps and poor living conditions in developing countries have led to an increasing need for social support. Owing to this, there is a growing number of new players in the non-profit organisation (NPO) sector, which has given rise to intense competition for donor funding. More so, the global economic crisis of 2008 resulted in reduction and uncertainty in funding and philanthropic income. The environment in which NPOs operate is no longer favourable especially considering the intense competition for donations. Thus, sustainability has emerged to be a critical issue for these organisations, as they have to sustain a long-term, perpetual need with limited funding. In response to this, many scholars have concluded that adopting marketing strategies, and business-oriented methods and practices, can contribute and enable these organisations to achieve sustainability. Even though some NPOs have moved towards adopting these strategies, sustainability remains a challenge for them. The reason for this could be that NPOs are not utilising marketing and management strategies as widely as they should be. This prompted the following research question: To what extent do healthcare sector NPOs employ marketing and management strategies in their operations? In order to address this question, a combination of techniques was adopted which included literature review, in-depth interviews, focus groups discussion, and thematic and content analysis. Some say that the lack of adoption of marketing strategies and business-oriented methods is mainly due to a lack of understanding of the benefits of marketing and the perception that marketing is only for the for-profit sector. This incited the question of what should be the impact of including marketing strategies on growth and sustainability of healthcare sector NPOs in South Africa? In the literature review, evidence was presented that NPOs are of significant value to any economy they serve, they aid in addressing inequality gaps, and they provide services that cannot be provided by the state to disadvantaged communities and individuals. In light of the value-add NPOs bring, it is imperative for these organisations to operate for the long-term. This could be achieved through the adoption of marketing and business-like approaches as noted in previous studies, however, this is not the case as these organisations are faced with funding challenges and intense competition. This elevated the question: How should the challenges to the current NPOs marketing efforts be addressed? This study utilised the qualitative method. Qualitative methods were considered the most applicable for this study because they help the researcher to gain deeper insights into the research problem through interactions with the study participants. The study finds that the inability to adopt business-oriented methods in NPOs is owing to a lack of skills and expertise, lack of knowledge of how to approach marketing and the high dependence on donor funding. The respondents concur that the high dependence on donor funding has resulted in a lack of independence on how to utilise the funds. According to the literature, due to a high dependence on donor funding, the design of NPOs’ projects is usually framed to suit donor requirements and within the budget line items that are acceptable to the donor; essentially donors require their funds to be used only for charitable activities they are interested in. This raised a question: What should be the main funding streams for NPOs in the healthcare sector in South Africa? In response to the literature, research questions and the study findings, a framework was developed which could provide NPOs with the basic understanding of how to adapt marketing and management strategies for sustainability; where the process should start, what it should involve, what are the outcomes thereof and the benefits to NPOs. This then overall answers the question of how marketing and management strategies should be effectively deployed to achieve NPO sustainability

SROI as a Method for Evaluation Research: Understanding Merits and Limitations

NPOs and their funders are increasingly drawn to the Social Return on Investment (SROI) method to evaluate the social impact of programs, organizations or organization networks. While many claims about the benefits of SROI have been expressed, various points of criticism have also been raised. On the basis of both current research and our own experience in conducting SROI analyses, we develop a comprehensive assessment of this method, which is structured along two dimensions: the observer's paradigmatic perspective, on the one hand, and positive or negative valuation, on the other. We identify two major merits: SROI analysis can provide legitimacy to NPOs or their funders, and it can assist in allocating resources. We identify limitations from three perspectives: From an interpretative-sociological perspective, criticism of commensuration and utilitarianism calls the method as a whole into question. From a technical-instrumental perspective, there are a number of difficulties that could however be overcome as the method matures. From an intermediary perspective, a number of limitations become apparent that, while inherent to SROI analysis, are no reason for abandoning it, as long as they are thoroughly understood. We conclude by providing suggestions for the responsible use of SROI analysis

ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOUTH KOREAN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS: STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS AS PERCEIVED BY NONPROFIT LEADERS

My dissertation attempts to identify the major societal and strategic forces that shape the development of South Korea’s nonprofit sector as perceived by Non-profit Organization (NPO) leaders and managers. I began with a reflection on Lester Salamon’s (2012) theoretical framework, which specifies four impulses—civic activism, voluntarism, professionalism, and commercialism—that have historically exerted pressure on the U.S. nonprofit sector and, consequently, shaped its present structure and behavior. My first research question is: what are the impulses shaping the South Korean NPO sector? I seek to discover if Salamon’s framework is transferable to the South Korean context. South Korea has a distinct social foundation and history of civil society, which may generate different impulses than those in the U.S. My dissertation delves into the universalities and particularities of the driving forces that South Korean NPOs face. My second research question is: what specific accountability obligations are perceived by NPO leaders to be implied by the various impulses? For the purpose of this study, accountability is defined as the management of diverse stakeholder expectations on nonprofit management (Kearns, 1996; Romzek & Dubnick, 1987). This study focuses on how NPO leaders and managers align the organization with perceived stakeholder expectations. This study is comprised of two phases: employing mixed methods of the Repertory Grid Method and organizational surveys. The first phase aims to identify what a sample of NPO leaders believe to be the driving forces impacting their accountability environments. In phase II of the study, the survey is designed to determine how NPO leaders perceive the driving forces that are shaping their accountability environment and, further, to identify the ways that they are responding to these forces. This study found that the reinforcing influence and countervailing interchange between the social movement and strategic management impulses have been significant and tangible in the South Korean context. It also observed that the duality structure, which refers to the split between advocacy-focused NPOs and service-focused NPOs in the nonprofit sector, prevails in the South Korean nonprofit sector in terms of the nonprofit leaders’ perceptions of their accountability obligations towards their main stakeholders